NIAMEY — Niger's military junta said late Thursday that 400 French soldiers based in the southwestern town of Ouallam will be the first to leave the country following France's announcement that it would begin withdrawing its troops this week.
An air base in the capital Niamey, where most French soldiers are stationed, will be dismantled by the end of the year, it said in a statement on national radio.
France said it would begin withdrawing its troops from coup-hit Niger this week after President Emmanuel Macron said last month he refused to be "held hostage" by the leaders of the July 26 takeover and was ending military cooperation with the West African country.
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The decision to pull 1,500 troops from Niger leaves a gaping hole in Western efforts to counter a decade-long Islamist insurgency in the Sahel region and deals a blow to France's influence in the region.
Niger's junta said it would ensure the departure was orderly, safe and carried out "in respect of our interests and conditions." It urged citizens to be vigilant during this "transition period."
In a statement on Thursday, the French Armed Forces Ministry said the troops would return to France and that the military exit should be complete by the end of the year.
Niger was the West's last key ally in the central Sahel region south of the Sahara Desert until the military junta called for France to leave.
Macron also pulled his ambassador out of Niger last week, about a month after the junta ordered his expulsion.